I Loved You First
by Darth Mer-Mer
Summary: KAGOMExINU FLUFF! The true story about why Inuyasha loved Kikyo before he even met her, based on a childhood experience. Don't worry Kikyo's not in this story, strictly Kagome and Inuyasha of course! Please R&R! Love you all!


This story works on the premise that Inuyasha and Kagome are linked to each other through the well. The connection is not only through the shards, so lets assume that this is fate's way of spicing things up. Thanks to Aniki for the idea…I love you most of all! Please let me know if I'm doing okay with what I'm writing! Love to you all, I own no one, they only live under my bed with a intense fear of baths…Darth Mer-Mer  
  
Momijichan@hotmail.com  
  
I Loved You First…  
  
Many years ago, before Kagome had traveled though the Bone Eater's Well, before Sango was born, before Miroku's Grandfather's hand was cursed with the Air Void and even before Inuyasha had heard about Kikyo, the hanyou was a little boy. A very active little boy, who drove his mother crazy with worry, but a little boy none the less. The little boy Inuyasha always had dirt on at least one cheek, a scrape on one knee and a hundred tangles in his white mop of hair. And on the sunny day when his mother couldn't quite keep up with him, he fell down a well and into another place.  
  
He could hear his mother calling behind him, the familiar notes of worry, concern and fear creating the tone of his mother's voice. He sped up, clutching his precious toy top to his chest, not wanting her to find him just yet. He knew that she was coming after him, wooden comb in hand to wage the old war against the troops of white tangles in his hair. He was predestined to lose the battle and his small feet ran a little faster towards the clearing. Listening to the sounds on the wind as he ran, he knew that no one was near the old well he had found. No one was supposed to see him, because he was special. Right now he didn't care, his mother was as mean as any youkai when it came to tangles.  
  
The sunlight hit him like a heard of horses as he entered the clearing. He stopped for a moment as his sensitive golden eyes adjusted to the bright light. His large ears flipped back, warning him of his approaching foe hot on his heals. Leaping into the field, he felt the comb brush only the air behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see his mother, beautiful, fierce and scary at the same time still in pursuit. His heart beating like a bird taking to flight, he veered for the well. He could hide there! With a final leap he jumped down the well. He looked up and saw his mother silhouetted in the sunlight at the entrance, then all was dark.  
  
Kagome could hear her mother behind her. But she knew there was no way her pregnant mother could keep up with her strong little legs. The little six year old girl had refused to take a bath and was running for her life as her mother pursued her waddling like an angry penguin. In her mind she knew, with out any doubt at all that she would wash down the drain with the bath water because she was so skinny. And there was still so much to live for! It was too soon to have to go live where ever the bath water went.  
  
She could hide in the old well house. They would never look for her there! She wasn't supposed to be there. And if worse came to worse she could cover her eyes and then they wouldn't be able to see her. But that was only if her mother was really close to finding her. She didn't want to scare her mother with such a display of power! They were already scared of her imagination…it was over-acky-tive. Adults thought that was bad.  
  
She slid the door shut and blinked her eyes as they adjusted to the dark. Her breathing was ragged from running so hard. She could hear her heart in her chest going, bump, bump, bump. She sighed. Her heart slowed down but the bumping sound continued. Kagome froze, the bumping was inside the well…she covered her eyes and became invisible.  
  
Inside the well, Inuyasha was fighting not to panic. The well was covered up now…was his mom that mad at him? He climbed easily up the side and pounded on the cover. It slowly shifted and he got a grip on the edge of the covering, tucking his prized top into his sleeve. Pushing with all his strength, he leapt out of the well into more darkness. His eyes dilated and he saw a small, skinny girl in front of him. She was crouched on the ground covering her eyes. He cocked his head to one side and said, "What are you doing?"  
  
Kagome started at the sound of the voice. It sounded like another kid! It was okay no matter who it was because she was invisible as long as she kept her eyes closed. "I'm being invisible."  
  
"Oh…okay." He sat down beside her. "I'll be invisible too then." He looked at her one more time then mimicked how she was sitting and covered his eyes.  
  
"Wow, you're really good!" Kagome exclaimed. "I can't see you!"  
  
"Really? This is the first time I've been invisible…" He looked up, eyes still covered. "You're good too…I can't see you either."  
  
"Thank you…I've been practicing." She shifted, her shoulder brushing against his. "Who are you?"  
  
"I'm Inuyasha. Who are you?"  
  
"I'm Kagome…" But before she could say anything else, sunlight flooded into the small building and Kagome was pulled away. Her mother had somehow seen through her invisibility! "Ahh, Mama, no, please I don't wanna!" Kagome kicked and uncovered her eyes, becoming visible again.  
  
Inuyasha, hidden in the shadows of the door, uncovered his eyes to see the pretty little girl being carried away by a woman shaped like a kappa around the middle. His little heart stirred as Kagome reached out a hand to him. "Ahh, Inuyasha, save me!" Growling, he started after her at a safe distance so the kappa wouldn't catch him. He was small after all and it was a huge kappa. It had to have eaten recently, judging how big it's belly was. The Kagome girl was safe for now, at least she wouldn't be eaten.  
  
Kagome kicked and screamed all the way back to the house. Her mother sighed. "Kagome, who on earth is Inuyasha?" Staring down at her skinny, dirty daughter.  
  
Tears cutting clean tracks on her cheeks, Kagome sniffed. "He came out of the well! But he was invisible!" She hiccuped. Her mother just shook her head, another imaginary friend…when would her daughter grow out of her overactive imagination? "Well, you are headed for the bath, young lady."  
  
Kagome howled like a wounded animal. "Mama, no! Please, let me stay here, I don't want to go down the drain!" She waved desperately over her mother's shoulder at the small bundle of red cloth and white hair following behind her. "INUYASHA!"  
  
He gasped. The kappa called 'mama' was going to send his friend Kagome to Dowinn Da'rain, how awful! He had never heard of Dowinn Da'rain, but somehow he knew it was a fate worse than death for the fair Kagome who's face was just as dirty and hair just as tangly as his own. He followed behind waiting for an opportunity to save the maiden to present itself.  
  
Kagome sat crying in the bath…her end was near and she was all alone. Well, not completely alone, her rubber ducky floated towards her as if to say, worry not…you will not perish alone. Tears flowed down her cheeks, to have to go down the drain at such a young age! Life was so unfair…It must be very dark down there…and cold. The water was getting cold and she knew that the drain was just trying to claim its next victim sooner. Would anyone remember her after she was gone? Her mother and father would have the new baby…they didn't need her anymore. How sad that no one would remember or mourn for her memory when she passed on the other side of the drain.  
  
Suddenly the small window above the bathtub slid back and a dirty, clawed hand reached down to her like the hand of god. "Kagome! Can you hear me?" It was the boy from the well, Inuyasha! She was saved!  
  
"Inuyasha, I'm here!" She reached up and clasped his hand in her own, he would save her! "Can you pull me up?"  
  
Scrambling was heard on the other side of the wall. "No, the window's too small!" He lost his footing and tumbled back to the ground. Oh, no, surely Kagome would be sucked to Dowinn Da'rain! He had to save her.  
  
While the tiny Inuyasha desperately tried to scale the wall again, Kagome's mother came into the bath. She looked down at Kagome's pruned fingers and toes and shook her head. "Okay, Kagome, time to get out." She pulled the plug on the drain and wobbled out before her daughter could start crying again.  
  
The water swirled around and down the drain in a miniature whirlpool…to Kagome's eyes it was a huge as a Maelstrom and the sucking noise would be the last thing she heard before she was swept away with the last of the soap bubbles. She had only one hope to escape the hypnotic vortex. She cried out with her last breath, "Inuyasha!" As she slid on the slip-slidey tub bottom pulled by the gaping hole that was the drain, her coltish legs kicked. At the last possible moment before she was sucked down whole a strong hand grabbed her slippery wrist.  
  
"Hang on, I've got you!" His fingers tightened, trying to hold her soapy hand as she slipped slowly through his fingers. Inuyasha twisted his body and pushed his arm through the glass hole all the way to his shoulder. He couldn't lose her yet, he had just met her! If only he could stop the awful noise that was threatening to steal his friend away.  
  
Kagome gasped as her hand slid a bit more out of Inuyasha's grip. "I can't hang on!" She cried as her big toe on her left foot felt the cold metal at the edge of her impending doom. She scrambled and pulled herself up, cradling her friend's hand close to her cheek. "Thank you for trying to save me…but, it's too late." She kissed his hand and let go. She couldn't pull him down the drain with her. "Please remember me!"  
  
"I could never forget you!" No! She couldn't disappear this soon! Reaching into his sleeve he threw his most prized possession to Kagome. "Quick, use it to plug up the vortex!" He shouted as he fell to the ground again.  
  
She caught the small wooden top and thrust it down the gaping whirlpool. To her amazement, it stopped. A bright smile lit her face. "Inuyasha, it worked!" She stood up and peered out the window. The boy lay on the ground looking up at her, a crooked grin plastered on his face as he saw the girl smiling back at him. Thank the gods! The pretty, dirty, tangly girl Kagome was safe!  
  
"Go around to the tree!" She shouted down to him, like a real Rapunzel. "The window with the pink curtains is mine!" Then she disappeared.  
  
Her heart beating hard in her chest, Kagome, now dressed in her prettiest nightgown readied herself to meet her brave prince who had saved her! She carefully opened the door to her room. Crouched on the floor was a little boy with long tangly hair white as snow. His eyes looked at her happily, gold in the light of her little pony lamp. He was dressed all in red, like the brave prince in her story books. But best of all, he had dog ears on the top of his head! The wind blew through the curtains of her open window.  
  
Wow…he though, she was really pretty. She was wearing a strange light green kimono with frills all over it and the image of a galloping neon pink pony on the front. That must be her family's crest he thought as he stood up and bowed like his mother had taught him. Her hair was darker than the nicest inkstones he had ever seen and was wavy at the ends.  
  
Kagome bowed back…still smiling. She leapt forward and threw her arms around her savior. "Thank you so much for saving me!" Holding him she felt him wrap his arms around her scrawny body and hold her tightly. Laughing he spun around with her in his arms.  
  
"You're safe, I'm so happy!" He finally put her down and sat next to her. "Your castle is very strange…Kagome?"  
  
Kagome was enthralled with petting his ears. Inuyasha smiled…he was used to people being afraid of him. It was nice to find someone who liked him and his ears too! Suddenly he remembered that he had lost his top…his face crumbled as a few big tears slipped down his face.  
  
Kagome gasped. "Inuyasha, what's wrong?"  
  
"I lost my top…It was my favorite toy." He started to howl. "I want my mother!"  
  
Kagome wrapped her arms around him. "Don't worry! I'll give you my favorite toy, because you saved me." She got up and rummaged in her very special box that played music when it was open. As the music faded she walked back to the sobbing boy, her hand tightly clasped around her most precious item.  
  
He sniffed, sad but curious about what she was holding.  
  
"This is my favorite hair ribbon." She whispered, sitting down in front of the crushed prince. "I made it, see how it's woven, I did that with my very own fingers." She held it up, a dark red string twisted around her hand. She reached over and tied it around his pinkie finger. "Now we're soulmates!" She exclaimed and held the red string between them the other end tied to her pinkie. "No matter where you go, we'll always be able to find each other!"  
  
Inuyasha stared down at the precious gift, it was a bazillion times better than a dumb old top! He reached out and clasped Kagome's hand in his own. That she would give something so special to someone like him! He leaned forward and pressed his mouth to hers like he had seen his mother do to his father. He sat back on his heals and said, "I love you!" He pulled her to her feet. "Come back with me through the well! If you come with me, I'll always protect you! And I'll always love you!"  
  
Kagome scrambled to her feet. "Okay! But how do we get out of my room? If I go outside, my mom and dad will be really mad."  
  
He crouched down, "Get on my back, I'll carry you down." Together they leapt out the window and made a mad dash for the well. Kagome's heart was beating like mad as he grinned at her.  
  
He was so happy! What a wonderful person he had found. The red sting that connected them bounced as they ran. Suddenly, a light went on in the strange castle that had been Kagome's home. "Kagome, hurry, behind us!"  
  
Kagome glanced over her shoulder to see her mother running towards her as Inuyasha slipping inside the well house. She followed when the string when taunt between them. Inuyasha pulled her inside and they bounded down the steps together.  
  
They looked at each other with perfect understanding. The counted silently to three and jumped. Inuyasha leapt down the well, but felt the string tighten painfully around his finger. Looking up he saw Kagome be plucked out of the air by the Mama kappa. "Inuyasha," She shouted. "Remember, I love you too!" The red string slipped off her finger.  
  
He yelled back with tears in his eyes. "I loved you first!" Then Kagome was gone and the face of his own mother appeared above him. Had it been a dream? He looked down at his finger as she mother showered him with questions. The dark red sting dangled, still attached to his pinkie finger. Quickly, he tied the ends together and slid the loop around his head and laced one arm through so that it fit snugly across his right shoulder and under his left arm. He had to get back to her! Struggling against his mother's arms he leapt at the well. She caught him in midair and walked away. "No, Inuyasha…You can never go down that well again, do you hear me?"  
  
"But, Mother!"  
  
"No, promise me! It's too dangerous." She held him tightly to her shoulder.  
  
Tears in his eyes, he nodded his head, fingering the ribbon around him and said, "Yes, ma'am. I promise…" Looking over his mother's shoulder he whispered, "G'bye for now, Kagome…I'll find you again, don't worry!"  
  
Years later, when Inuyasha first saw Kikyo…he thought that it was the little girl he had saved so long ago…this is the true reason why Inuyasha first approached Kikyo. He thought that she was the one he loved first…  
  
The End  
  
Please read and review! I need feedback to fuel my creativity! Love you all! Darth Mer-Mer. 


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